Page 16 - CooperatorNews NY April 2022

directory.cooperatornews.com Your one source for all the businesses and services essential to your co-op, condo or HOA COOPERATORNEWS DIRECTORY OF BUILDING SERVICES Search by location: cooperatordirectory.com 16 COOPERATORNEWS — APRIL 2022 COOPERATORNEWS.COM Residents who might have once appreci- ated the green from their windows now need little care.” The caveat, explains Car- want to use the areas for everything from novale, is that “the leaves and stems are aerobics to just zoning out. The explosion fragile and break off easily, The allotted of “pandemic puppies” has also increased space should be void of heavy foot traf- homeowner and shareholder demand for fic.” outdoor space to accommodate their pets’ needs … and has played a part in destroy- ing plants and grasses. Carnovale, Lindner, and Dulio all say says Carnovale, “we are seeing an increase ents Expo at the New York Hilton Mid- they’ve had an increase in interest from in interest in artificial turf.” He explains town on Wednesday, May 11, 2022! For HOA clients who want to add or recon- figure lawn spaces since the pandemic. grass all year round “while offering the While Dulio’s clients are more in the due benefits of being fertilizer- and chemical- diligence phase, “interested in creating free, pet friendly, easy to maintain, and \[a new outdoor spaces and amenities for way to\] conserve water.” their communities, but concerned about undertaking new projects at this time,” he free, warns Lindner, so associations says, Lindner sees that, “more people are looking to “go faux” should factor in the home and want to enjoy their landscapes limitations of non-grass lawns as well. Ar- more, thus spending more on their prop- erties.” He points out that “a well-main- tained property can also increase a home’s being used, \[and\] must be swept and dis- value by 15 to 18 percent.” Even Better Than the Real Thing Increasingly, a lawn’s limitations—high activity and/or by children. maintenance, high cost, environmental impact—are nudging cooperatives and City installs artificial turf for their clients associations to consider other types of all the time—one reason being that they ground cover. “More and more clients are are predominantly on the roofs, terraces, looking for a low-maintenance alternative and courtyards of city high-rises, where to traditional lawns,” says Carnovale. “For growing grass is not ideal or even possible lightly trafficked areas, one alternative in some cases. They say that artificial turf is using a low-growing sedum as a lawn has come a long way in recent years— space. Sedums are succulent, drought- tolerant plants that grow like weeds and like the real thing. It’s not your grandma’s Although landscapers usually prefer services and advice to boards, property live material wherever possible, given the managers, and residents of co-ops and growing desire for usable outdoor space, condos—at our upcoming CooperatorEv- that this option provides the look of green more information and to register, visit Synthetic options aren’t maintenance- tificial turf, he says, “must be irrigated to keep the surface temperature down when infected on a regular basis,” especially when the space is used for high-intensity QG Floral & Landscape in New York looking, feeling, and even smelling more astroturf anymore. Experts at the Expo Come visit QG Floral & Landscape and other landscape companies—as well as scores of other businesses that provide www.coopexpo.com . n Darcey Gerstein is Associate Editor and a Staff Writer for CooperatorNews. BETTER GRASS CARE continued from page 15 Of particular concern for boards is protecting residents’ personal financial information. No one wants their personal financial problems broadcast to the en- tire community—and in many cases, it’s illegal to do so. Boards must be particu- larly careful with respect to arrearages and health issues. Guarding personal in- formation is as important as community transparency, and the line between them, while thin, must be absolute. COMMUNICATIONS... continued from page 8 If residents feel their board is too se- cretive or unresponsive, Wolf says they should articulate those concerns to their management. “We will try to resolve the problem. If not, owners can reach out to the board directly. If it’s still unresolved, we will outline to the residents how to change the board. We tell them to run for the board. If you don’t like the board, vote them out.” A truly problematic or negligent board may also find itself out of a manager; “Frankly,” says Wolf, “I will terminate the contract if a board is too difficult.” Legal Considerations The communication pitfalls board members and associations or corpora- tions may stumble into vary state by state, and governing document by gov- erning document. For example, ac- cording to Ellen Shapiro, a partner with Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, a law firm based in Braintree, Massachusetts, “There aren’t any requirements for regu- lar communication under Massachusetts law, but there is a requirement that upon request, certain accounting documents must be communicated by the board to the residents. A copy of financial reports shall be made available. It might be an af- firmative obligation to send it out, but my opinion is that the resident must request it. There is a provision that a CPA review statements in properties of more than 50 units. The penalty attached to failure to